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Horne Lake Caves

An Adventure Thousands of Years In the Making

Discover Vancouver Island's Inner Beauty! Our professionally guided caving adventures are available all year round! With options for many ages and abilities, our knowledgeable and friendly team will lead your group through an exciting and educational adventure you won't soon forget!

Cave Exploration Packages

At Horne Lake Caves we have a variety of cave exploration packages suited for all ages and comfort & fitness levels. All of our packages are guided by one of our knowledgeable and friendly guides who will open your eyes to the world beneath your feet.

$54

/person + GST
1hr 45m | Max. 10 people | Ages: 6+ | Challenge Rating ✦✦✧✧✧

Riverbend Cave Explorer

Our easiest and most spacious tour leads you into Riverbend Cave without having to squeeze or do any vertical climbing. See amazing crystal formations and ancient fossils while learning about the history of the cave’s geology. This beautiful cave is in its wild state, with rough terrain and this is some authentic hands on caving! Visitors should be fairly agile and able to bend over and walk in a crouched position.

$79

/person + GST
multicave
2.5 hours | Max. 8 people | Ages: 8+ | Challenge Rating ✦✦✦✧✧

Multi-Cave Experience (Riverbend & Main Caves)

Enjoy a guided 1km nature hike before discovering ancient calcite formations and fossils in the beautiful and spacious areas of upper Riverbend Cave. The adventure continues with a thrilling trip through Main Cave, where you can test out your caving abilities with a 3 tier waterfall climb (no ropes necessary), a standing squeeze, and Canada's only cave slide! This will be an experience you'll always remember.

$79

/person + GST
1.5 hours | Max. 8 people | Ages: 8+ | Challenge Rating 3.5 / 5

The Action Pack (Main & Lower Caves)

Explore two fun action packed caves that are just a short 7 minute hike away from our visitor centre. These are wild, obstacle based caves that make for a rewarding adventure. Participants can test their caving abilities with short squeezes and climbs with the confidence boosting assistance of a professional cave guide. Beautiful Calcite Formations (including one that glows in the dark!) and Ancient Fossils await you in an underground playground.

Vertical Cave Tours:

$139

/person + GST
𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓 | 4 Hours | Max. 6 People | Ages: 13+ | Challenge Rating ✦✦✦✦✧

Achilles Challenge

An adventurous taste of the pristine beauty that lays beyond the crawlways in Riverbend Cave. Put your cave abilities to the test with 3 belly crawls, a 6m rock climb and a 5m cable ladder climb to earn these sights you will treasure forever.

$199

/person + GST
𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓 | 5.5 Hours (Includes 30min Above Ground Rappel Practice + 4hrs 15min In Cave) | Max. 6 People | Ages: 13+ | Challenge Rating ✦✦✦✦✦

Max Depth Adventure

The ultimate journey through all of Riverbend Cave’s beautiful chambers and passageways, venturing beyond Achilles Pot to the deepest reaches of the cave. Crawlways, climbs, and rappels up to 20m. A true caving adventure that will test your limits and reward you with amazing sights and a glorious story you will always remember.

$185

/person + GST
𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓 | 5 Hours (Includes 1hr Above Ground Practice + 3hrs 15min In Cave) | Max. 4 People | Ages: 16+ | Challenge Rating ✦✦✦✦✦✦ AVAILABLE BY REQUEST

*NEW!* Caver's Odyssey

Embark on an exhilarating journey featuring two new vertical pitches deep within Riverbend Cave. You will learn to use authentic rope ascension gear and techniques from a true caver who has helped to explore Canada's Longest Cave! After a hands-on tutorial at our above-ground Rappel Tower, journey beyond the crawlways of Riverbend Cave and put those skills to use as you descend and ascend 3 vertical pitches (up to 15m). The ultimate goal is witnessing the majestic Achilles Pot from a whole new perspective, marveling at its towering crystalline formations from a rimstone pool at its base.

Opening your eyes to a world beneath your feet

We offer a wide variety of caving exploration tours suited for many ages and fitness levels.

Locally Operated for over 30 years

We've always believed that caving isn’t just limited to a highly-adventurous few, but rather that every person can experience this rewarding activity in a safe and structured way.

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Testimonials

  • Worth every penny! We did the multi-cave experience and found it SO interesting and FUN. A big shout out to Oscar, who was our cave guide. He was super knowledgeable and animated! 11/10 recommend you need to do this at least ONCE! This is now my second time doing this and it won’t be my last.

    - Virginia E.

  • This excursion was a highlight of our recent 10-day trip to Vancouver Island. It was fun, fascinating, and physical. Myles was a fabulous guide, sharing his obvious passion for caving in ways that were really engaging -- we left with a far greater appreciation for the fragile nature and exploration of caves!

    - Eddy B.

  • We had an awesome time doing the multi-cave explorer tour guided by our caving expert, Myles! The tour was super educational regarding these caves, from calcite formations to the importance of preservation, and caving in general. I would highly recommend it for all ages and abilities!

    - Emma J.

  • Brilliant! Our guide Chloe was a consummate professional. She was knowledgeable, experienced, and yet carried a relaxed and caring attitude that helped with some of the anxiety/excitement inevitably associated with first-time caving. A unique experience that my 12-year-old and I would treasure for a long time. So THANKS!

    - Gary L.

  • Booking online was simple, and reminder follow-ups with trip details came through in great time. It was a fun and wet day for our tour, and we had Adam as our guide. He showed us Main Cave and Lower Cave, as well as visiting the entrance to River Bend. The whole experience was adventurous and fun!

    - Trisha S.

  • It was really quite fascinating getting the opportunity to explore the cave system. Though we only went on the 'easy' tour there were other tours available at varying levels of difficulty. I really appreciated the fact that they were very keen to protect the natural environment.

    - Steven B.